Should I become a dealer to support my addiction?

[tommysgirl]

I will be getting some more chicks this spring. My uncle wants pullets but doesn't necessarily want to deal with brooding them so I told him I would do it for him. I am wondering if I should get extras and raise them all to 8 weeks and then sell them. I bought 6 mo old gold comet pullets for him this summer for 25.00 each.

I am in Northern CA and found a Craigslist listing for chicks that sets the price at their age plus 5$ and requires them to be sold in pairs. Does that sound reasonable for non-show quality birds? I don't want to make big money but I would like to cover the cost of my own own addiction...I mean, uhh new chicks.

I would probably be buying Delawares, Red Sex Links, Barred Rocks and Easter Eggers all from my local feed store.

 

[farmtotable]

I have never heard of the age + $5 thing... so like if the chick is 7 days old it would be $12? Around here (Pacific NW), chick prices are typically $2 for day-old to month old chicks that are "barnyard mix", and $3 up to $7 for specific breeds. The more rare breed, the more expensive. Vaccinated chicks cost $1.50-$3.00 more to cover the cost of the vaccine. $10 for months old pullets, and laying hens usually go for $15-$30. These are the costs I've noticed on Craigslist, and what I sell/buy my chicks for.

The "must by two" clause is pretty common, because a lone chick would be absolutely miserable, and picked on to no end if introduced into an existing flock on its own. Most responsible poultry owners will not have an issue with that, and if they did, I personally wouldn't sell to them.

In my opinion, unless you're selling a lot of chicks, you're probably not going to make a lot profit given how much feed costs are rising, but the experience will be great!

 

[tommysgirl]

Thanks... I did not express myself clearly when I posted the age plus five thing. What I should have said is is the age, in weeks, plus 5 so an 8 week old pullet would set you back 13 bucks. 10 per though sounds about right. I think I will be getting Speckled Sussex, too but nothing really rare but maybe the EE and the Delawares would fetch a few more bucks because the egg color of the EEs and the relative rareness of the Delawares.

I appreciate what you shared immensely. It is just the kind of information I hoped for.

Thanks for confirming the validity of the "must buy two" requirement. And yeah I don't want even to really make money, I more would just like to do this because I know brooding is a deterrent for some people and If I have 10 babies I may as well have a few more right??

If anyone has done this and would like to share their experience i would be grateful. Thank you!

 

[gryeyes]

Lots of folks on BYC (but not me) do that exact same thing with the chicks they hatch. It's the only way an Incubation Addict can deal with the number of chicks produced by that hobby. I, however, hoard mine... I mean, I don't sell 'em.

 

[donrae]

Lots of folks on BYC (but not me) do that exact same thing with the chicks they hatch. It's the only way an Incubation Addict can deal with the number of chicks produced by that hobby. I, however, hoard mine... I mean, I don't sell 'em.